An excellent first glimpse from a promising new artist, this demo CD from Lethal Even Asleep features four solid EBM tracks in the late ‘90s style. Any of these tracks could be compared favorably with Leather Strip, and “Pure Energy” in particular is reminiscent of Wumpscut’s Eevil Young Flesh era. While a bit derivative at times, these songs also employ a more minimal approach to vocal production, leaving things a bit cleaner than most EBM artists instead of burying everything in faux robot effects. The sneering sarcasm of “Darkness” in particular is more reminiscent of Chemlab than Skinny Puppy. “The Dream” is the most subdued piece, with lots of eerie minor-key pianos and a rattling percussion effect that sounds real rather than sampled, while “Suppressing Gods” is a straightforward but catchy aggressive track that would be perfect for the clubs. Lethal Even Asleep is a very new project and could use a little polish – the production values can be a little amateurish at times – but once this project accumulates a little more experience and puts together enough material for a full-length album, it’s sure to receive some attention from labels.